What life lessons/episode plots would you have liked to see in the show?

[AuroraMLP 59]

As Generation 4 comes to a close, and the show starting to run out of the main friendship lessons seen in earlier seasons, what sorts of lessons would you have liked to see?

There have been quite a few surprisingly complex and mature lessons that MLP has taught, considering the target demographic. Now the show is coming to a close, and we don't know what the focus of Generation 5 is going to be. The Elements of Harmony might not even be a thing. This generation is called "Friendship is Magic," and we don't know if friendship is going to be as big in the new, rebooted show.

If you were a show writer, what episodes would you have liked to see? Please, no "I really wanted a Celestia episode" and things like that. Yes, I would have loved those things too. This is a focus on the life lesson/moral.

Though in your description, feel free to be detailed. Maybe you have a perfect lesson for a Celestia episode. That would be great.

Discussion on the role of life lessons in MLP are also okay/encouraged.

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For my contribution, an episode moral I really wanted done well was about honesty. Specifically, how it can be incredibly inconvenient, and look like a bad idea.

In the end, though, being honest might hurt feelings or put you in awkward situations, but in the end, it holds a friendship together.

Applejack's key episode, the one with the Flim Flam tonic stuff, had the moral of "being honest when it isn't convenient, but I don't really think it was that much of a success. It seemed that the only reason she eventually decided to tell the truth was that her grandmother's life was literally in danger.

And cartoons in general, including MLP, use awkward lying all the time to get out of situations. It's a writing trope. Applejack did it herself in Party of One.

And think what would have happened if Applejack just told Pinkie "I'm sorry, I can't tell you." or "It's a secret." Just plain and simple. That would have defused the entire situation, since Pinkie has respect for that kind of thing.

Sure, in most episodes, it's used for plot points or for comedy, but of all the lessons on friendship, honesty when it is difficult isn't really taught explicitly. And as a main Element of Harmony, that's really underrepresented.

Just think of the "test" in the first episode. Applejack had no reason to lie that Twilight would be safe. And if she had explained herself with a few more words, Twilight wouldn't have panicked. If that "test" showed anything, it was just that Applejack trusted her friends enough to catch the unicorn.

(As much as it sounds, I'm not a particularly huge Applejack fan. I just value honesty quite a lot, and I know how misunderstood it can be, even among well-meaning and good people.)

For an episode plot, I'm thinking of something along the lines of "The One Where Pinkie Knows," except instead of just trying to hold in the great news, the struggle is with other ponies asking questions that are pretty innocent, but answering them would mean spoiling the secret.

In response to these questions, the character (not sure who - probably Applejack for the biggest impact) tells little white lies - ones that seem harmless but keep the secret hidden. But also ones that other ponies might see. Applejack then has to go through efforts to make them seem true to whatever pony/ponies she's keeping the secret from.

Near the end, she would be rushing all over the place, exhausted, as she tries to make sure all the different things she says on a whim both seem true to ponies, and work with each other. (Maybe elaborate means to keep ponies apart who she told different stories to or something.)

And right as she thinks she can't handle the stress anymore, she sees Big Mac (who is also in on it) say in about five words something that just makes ponies leave him alone.

Finally, whatever event/gift/etc. is revealed, the relevant ponies are sufficiently surprised and delighted, they shake their heads at the lengths she went to keeping that secret, and Applejack reflects on how easy things would have been if she had been brave enough to say "I can't talk about it."

 

(Criticism of the plot is okay, but please submit your own response when doing so for other people. Also, please refrain from criticism of ideals. While I enjoy a good philosophical debate, I don't want that kind of discussion in this thread. PM people for that sort of thing. Thank you.)

Edited April 8, 2018 by AuroraMLP

[FlareGun45 2,221]

* Friends are too busy to hang out.

* Someone just decides to not be friends anymore.

* How to end a dead-end crush.

Edited April 8, 2018 by MegaSean45

[cuteycindyhoney 13,306]

Explore the problem of addiction with Rainbow Dash's obvious dependency on cider. 

[Twilight Luna 31,340]

How to notice when someone only likes you because of what you have, not because of who you are. Maybe a lesson for Spike or Starlight since they both know Twilight. Somepony could try to make friends with one of them just so that they could meet Twilight.

How to learn when its ok to tell a secret that someone tells you.